Career Trends in Health Care: Nurse Practitioners

When you think of impacting patient care outcomes and medicine, do you only think of going to medical school?  According to the Tufts Pre-Health Advising office, there is a notable increase in the amount of students at Tufts who are interested in pre-medical studies since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and this interest has only continued to increase as many evaluate their career options in the medical field. Similarly, admissions deans throughout the country have also attested to the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the abundant number of applications for their highly selective finite slots.  Yet, with this record interest in practicing medicine on the rise, there are still a great many students who tend to overlook the variety of different career fields in which an individual can make an impact in the healthcare system.

Nurse Practitioner is an increasingly popular choice for those who want to make an impact in medicine and direct patient care with an accredited Master’s degree program, which can be a more affordable option for those who may be overwhelmed at the cost and length of a traditional MD program.  In fact, according to the US Department of Labor, the demand for Nurse Practitioners and similar occupations is projected to grow 45 percent from 2019 to 2029, much faster than the average for all occupations.

What Does It Take to Be a Nurse Practitioner (NP)?

What is the difference between a Nurse Practitioner and a Physician (MD)?

Job Outlook & Salary for Nurse Practitioners

Additional Information

For next steps, you can also visit The Herd, our flash mentoring database, and set up career conversations with Tufts alumni who work as a Nurse Practitioners to further investigate this career path.

By Malakia Silcott
Malakia Silcott Associate Director